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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team dropped a 55-13 decision to Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Bobby Bowden Field at Seibert Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga improves to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in league action.
 
"We started bad, played bad in the middle, we got a little momentum, but we couldn't hold onto it," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "We just kind of broke about even in the second half, just trying to take some chances to get back into the ballgame. Take your hat off to those guys, they came in here and whipped us in all three phases."
 
For Samford in the loss, Liam Welch completed 15-of-29 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Montrell Washington caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs. Welch also rushed 11 times for 38 yards, while Washington had three carries for 34 yards.
 
For the Samford defense, Nathan East led the team with 12 total tackles, including six solo stops. Noah Martin and Chris Edmonds had eight tackles each. Josiah Cotton had an interception for the Bulldog defense.
 
For Chattanooga, Ailym Ford rushed 28 times for 139 yards. Cole Copeland completed 11-of-14 passes for 261 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. For the defense, Rashu Freeman, Brandon Dowdell and Jerrel Lawson had an interception each.
 
Chattanooga jumped on top first on its first offensive play. Copeland hit Tyrell Price for a 42-yard touchdown pass to give the Mocs a 7-0 lead with 14:20 to go in the first quarter. Samford put its first points on the scoreboard when Zach Williams kicked a 31-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 11:24 to go in the first quarter. Copeland scored on a two-yard run to push the Chattanooga lead to 14-3 with 6:26 to go in the opening period.
 
Chattanooga's Aaron Sears kicked a 21-yard field goal to push the Mocs' lead to 17-3 with 14:13 left in the second quarter. Copeland scored on a one-yard run to make the score 24-3 with 9:08 to go in the second quarter. Chattanooga's Price scored on an eight-yard run to push the UTC lead to 31-3 with three seconds to go before halftime.
 
Sears booted a 40-yard field goal to make the score 34-3 with 11:01 to go in the third quarter. Samford's Williams kicked a 42-yard field goal to cut the lead to 34-6 with 9:02 left in the third period. UTC's Freeman picked off a Welch pass and returned it two yards for a touchdown to make the score 41-6 with 6:34 to go in the third quarter.
 
Welch connected with Washington for an 18-yard touchdown pass to cut the Chattanooga lead to 41-13 with 3:49 left in the third quarter. Chattanooga's Copeland hit Tyler Walker for a 17-yard touchdown pass to increase the Mocs' lead to 48-13 at the 10:16 mark in the fourth quarter. The final points were scored when Drayton Arnold scored on a three-yard run to make the final score 55-13.
 
As a team, Samford was limited to a season-low 200 yards, while Chattanooga finished with 492 total yards in the game.
 
Samford will play at VMI next Saturday, Oct. 30. The game is set for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) start from Lexington, Va.
 
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordFootball (Facebook), @SamfordFootball (Instagram) and @SamfordFootball (Twitter).